91.貪欲 Greed

91.GREED

　　His Honor Shen was famous for his generosity. He would rather die than dicker over prices. If his money wasn’t spent wisely, well, what matter? Money is made to be spent, and one way is as good as another.

　　But, like so many Chinese, his favorite pastime was eating and feasting. As the old saying has it, he would eat “anything on two legs except Mom and Pop, anything on four legs except beds and chairs.”

　　And speaking of beds! Have you ever seen a fancy Chinese bed? They are exquisitely carved, with a canopy on top. Shen’s bed was fit for an emperor. He always dressed in the most expensive, most glamorous clothes. He always demanded the best quality for everything he used.

　　 But eating was his main love. You name it, he ate it for breakfast, lunch,and dinner: duck’s brains, bear paws, shark fin, camel’s hump, ape lips, chicken, flogs, venison, and all sorts of rare, expensive delicacies. Over the years, the carcasses of thousands of dead animals went down Shen’s throat.

　　After he retired, Shen bought a palatial mansion. In the gardens, there were ponds and streams, with pavilions to sit in. You couldn’t tell for sure if you were on earth or in heaven! And it goes without saying that he hired the best chefs for his kitchen.

　　“How long can one person live?” Shen would ask his guests. “If you don’t enjoy now, when will you? What would life be without delicacies from hill and sea on the table?”

“He’ll get his some day,” some people said. But Shen ignored them.

　　All those expenditures take a lot of money. Shen’s fortune gradually dwindled,and Shen himself starting acting weird. He would eat anything he could stick in his mouth. Not just the dishes his chefs prepared, but also leaves and twigs, rocks, old shoes, litter, bird droppings, even teacups and platters went into his mouth. He would chew them up and swallow them. Before long, he had killed himself with his greed.

　　Isn’t that a sad way to die?

91.貪欲

　　我們可敬的沈先生是出了名的慷慨。他寧願死也不願意討價還價。如果他的錢花得不明智，那又怎麼樣呢？錢就是用來花的，這樣花或那樣花都是一樣的。

　　不過，就像很多中國人一樣，沈先生最喜歡的消遣方式還是吃吃喝喝。正如那句俗語所說的，「兩條腿的除了爹媽啥都吃，四條腿的除了床凳啥都吃。」

　　說到床，你見過那種奇怪的中式大床嗎？這種床有著精緻的雕花，床頂還有一頂花帳。沈先生的床給皇上用都足夠了。而且他還總是 穿著最昂貴最華麗的衣服。總之，無論他用什麼，都要用品質最好的。

　　不過，要說他的最愛，那還得是美食。一日三餐，只要你說的上名的，什麼鴨腦、熊掌、魚翅、駝峰、猿唇、山雞、田雞、鹿肉等等，各種奇珍美味他都吃過。這許多年來，有數千只動物的尸體落進了他肚。

　　離職以後，沈先生買了一座宮殿式的別墅。花園里有池塘和小溪，還有供小憩的亭子。身處這樣的豪宅，你都分不清是在人間還是天堂。而廚房更是不用多說，他雇傭了最好的廚子來負責他的飲食。

　　「一個人能活多久？」沈先生問他的客人，「現在不享受，什麼時候享受？沒有山珍海味，那生活還有什麼滋味？」

「總有一天他會受到報應的，」有的人說。但是沈先生毫不在意。

　　奢靡的生活花掉了沈先生大把的鈔票，他的財產逐漸 地減少，而他的飲食習慣也越來越怪異。只要能塞進嘴里的東西，他都會吃下去。不光是廚子做的飯菜，還有樹葉樹枝，石頭，舊鞋，垃 圾，鳥糞，甚至是茶杯盤子都進了他的嘴。他咀嚼著這些東西然後再嚥下去。沒過多久，他被自己的貪欲殺死了。

　　這樣的死是不是很可悲呢？